Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Date of this Version
2-20-2020
Abstract
Open Educational Resources (OERs) are part of a growing, global movement in open practice in Higher Education; current and potential use of OERs have significant implications for the student in Higher Education. While investment in OERs has been considerable through the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Ghana (CARLIGH), there has not been an evaluation to develop a full understanding of how these Open Educational Resources are perceived and patronized by academic staff and students. The study, therefore, evaluated the awareness, attitude and usage of OERs by students and staff at the Kumasi Technical University. Questionnaires were administered to lecturers (n = 50) and students (n = 300) sampled for the study. The findings indicated that the majority of academic staff (83.9%) and students (91.5%) were not familiar with the term OER in Kumasi Technical University; hence, they hardly used the resources. The academic staff who knew about the OERs used them for their research activities. Students who are also supposed to be direct beneficiaries never used the OERs at all. The study, therefore, proposed that much effort should be injected into promulgating the OER in the institution.